10 Books to Help You Get a Promotion

Climbing up the corporate ladder turns out to be a lot harder than it looks. The next rung always looks within reach, but actually getting there takes a ton of maneuvering. So how exactly do you get a promotion at work so you can take your career — and your company — to the next level?

While there’s no one magic formula that will equal a promotion, these 10 books will help ensure your hard work is being recognized and rewarded. No matter what stage you’re at in your career, these tips from business experts will help you advance further.

Secrets to Winning at Office Politics

Nobody likes to play office politics, but you can’t win the game and net a promotion by forfeiting. Secrets to Winning at Office Politics is a playbook on how to play the political game smartly, without jeopardizing your integrity or undermining others.

Brag!

You can’t get a promotion without promoting yourself — people need to know about your invaluable contributions to the team. Peggy Klaus teaches you how to brag about your accomplishments without sounding smug.

The Confidence Code

There’s been much discussion about the “confidence gap” between men and women, where “compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions,” according to Katty Kay and Claire Shipman’s article in The Atlantic. Luckily, “the good news is that, with work, confidence can be acquired,” and so Kay and Shipman wrote The Confidence Code specifically to help women gain more confidence and get the promotions they deserve.

Never Eat Alone

The title, Never Eat Alone, is Keith Ferrazzi’s thesis statement — in order to network successfully, you have to be constantly reaching out and connecting with other people. So don’t take lunch at your desk, and don’t just call up others when you need a favor. Putting in the facetime now with colleagues will lead them to have your back when that new management position opens up.

Power

Everybody has some amount of power, and with that power, it’s possible to gain even more. Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer has spent a ton of time studying what it takes to be an effective manager, and his book outlines the skills you need to be a standout leader.

Give and Take

Give and Take synthesizes some of the ideas found in Never Eat Alone and Power, arguing that success is not directly tied to hard work or passion, but how we interact with others. Wharton professor Adam Grant takes this simple premise and reveals why and how some people keep succeeding while others languish at the bottom of the ladder.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

No book list on how to get ahead at work can forget about Stephen R. Covey’s classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. While these 7 habits are essential, Covey also identified The 8th Habit, necessary specifically for this new, faster-paced digital age.

Managing Oneself

Before you can expertly manage others, you have to learn how to manage yourself, so that you’re playing to your greatest strengths. Management consultant Peter Drucker shows how to best prepare yourself for perfect opportunities when they arise.

Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got

But why wait to seize an opportunity when it arises? Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got lays out 21 ways to create new opportunities for yourself and earn more money through creatively rethinking how to use the resources you’ve been given.

Linchpin

The most indispensable employees — the linchpins — combine these great leadership skills with creative thinking. They are the ultimate people persons who can resolve conflicts. Entrepreneur Seth Godin expounds on the qualities of linchpin employees, and how many opportunities outside of the traditional hierarchy arise for them.